Rita
Rita is a city fox from Copenhagen and the deutagonist of the Jungledyret franchise alongside Hugo. She is Hugo's streetwise urban counterpart and helps him adjust to city life. Spunky but pragmatic, she frequently voices her frustration with Hugo's impulsive and self-centered tendencies, but remains committed to him and is ever ready to forgive his mistakes. Hugo and Rita quickly develop a romantic relationship, and in Jungledyret 2 she leaves her family den to establish a new home with him, a theme that continues into the television series (although the romantic element is downplayed in later media and virtually removed in the Miramax dub). Appearances ''Jungledyret'' Rita first appears in the 1993 film Jungledyret. Hugo meets her after the city zoo closes for the night; noticing that he is a new arrival, Rita introduces herself and briefly describes her family, explaining that while her mother hunts for food she explores the city. Hugo quickly develops a crush, but they are interrupted when Conrad Cupmann breaks into the zoo and Rita flees the scene. Hugo re-encounters Rita the following evening while venturing through the city. He helps her to raid a dumpster for food, but is put off by rotten leftovers, to which she suggests a restaurant that throws its leftovers out to stray cats. Against her warnings Hugo confronts the cats, and after he unwittingly antagonizes them she helps him escape on a skateboard found earlier. After they get away she angrily rebukes his recklessness and selfishness, but agrees to take him to her home and persuades her mother to let him stay for the rest of the day. She asks Hugo about life in the jungle and concludes it must be "awesome", but declines his offer to follow him back for fear of its dangerous wildlife. By now Rita reciprocates Hugo's affection, and suggests they find a home for him in the city so they can play together at night. That evening, Rita proposes they go to the harbour themselves to find the banana ship, but her mother interrupts before they can leave, offering to take Hugo herself while Rita watches over her siblings. Undaunted, Rita secretly follows them and reunites with Hugo at a nearby construction site. She helps him evade Cupmann's bounty hunters by navigating the storm sewers to the harbour front. After finding the ship, they share a bittersweet farewell that is interrupted by one of the trackers, but her quick intervention saves him from capture. As the ship leaves the next morning, Rita returns to the harbour for one last goodbye, telling Hugo to come back next year, when she will be old enough to live on her own. ''Den Store Filmhelt'' The second film opens with Rita already deeply missing Hugo, having composed a song that she regularly sings to her siblings. When Mrs. Robin informs her that Hugo is back in the city, she makes haste to the Cupmann's Film Studio, and on her second attempt to infiltrate the grounds contacts him in his room, but their reunion is cut short when security is alerted to her presence and she is forced to flee. Rita returns the following evening, by which time the success of the day's filming session has infected Hugo with film star arrogance; when he claims he can't leave until they finish the shoot, she rebukes him for putting comfort above freedom and her own concern and storms off bitterly. After he escapes and arrives at the den, she tries to guilt him for the previous night, but is overcome by her own relief and quickly welcomes him back. Although the den is too crowded for Hugo to stay, Rita realizes it is the perfect opportunity to move out and begins digging her own den nearby. Before it is complete they are spotted by Cupmann's staff, and in order to keep the tracking dogs from finding her siblings she and Hugo flee, catching a passing train that takes them out into the countryside. Although Rita is reluctant to abandon her family so abruptly, she recognizes that she is now wanted alongside Hugo, and after escaping with the pigs into the nearby forest sets about finding a home for them both. Their new life seems happy at first, but Hugo adapts poorly to the woodland ecosystem, never learning to forage for his own food, and with the onset of Autumn his complaints become insufferable; when he muses returning to the studio, Rita is offended to the point of heartbreak and runs off. She later encounters Mrs. Robin and her family, who suggest travelling south for the season as they do. She reunites with Hugo, who tells her that Cupmann is scouring the forest and intends to kill her, deeming her a "bad influence". They escape the forest via a frozen river, and after foiling Cupmann's ambush follow the Robins to a bridge overpass where they hop aboard a southbound train. TV series :This section requires expansion. In the animated series, Rita is more pronounced as the straight man to Hugo's antics, keeping him on task during their many diversionary adventures. In the early episodes when the prospect of returning to the jungle looks unlikely, she tries in vain to convince him to settle down where they are. Her relief upon finally reaching the jungle quickly turns to frustration as Hugo neglects her to reconnect with his old friends and her unfamiliarity with the environment repeatedly lands her in danger. By the end of "Jungleånden", however, she is more comfortable with the inhabitants and declares she is willing to tough it out. She is voiced by Laura Bailey. ''Fræk Flabet og fri'' :This section requires expansion. When Hugo is kidnapped in the third film, Rita heads the rescue party to free him. During the trek through the jungle she encounters a lost pup and adopts the role of surrogate mother. References * Jungledyret, directed by Stefan Fjeldmark and Flemming Quist Møller. A. Film A/S, 1993. * Jungledyret Hugo: den store filmhelt, directed by Flemming Quist Møller, Jørgen Lerdam and Stefan Fjeldmark. A. Film A/S, 1996. * Jungledyret Hugo, directed by Stefan Fjeldmark, Flemming Quist Møller and Anders Sørensen. A. Film A/S, 2002–3. * Jungledyret Hugo: Fræk, flabet og fri, directed by Flemming Quist Møller, Jørgen Lerdam and Anders Sørensen. A. Film A/S, 2007. Trivia * She is shown to be quite tomboyish in the first movie and quite feminine in the sequel. * Rita seems slightly older in the second film. Category:Protagonists Category:Film characters Category:TV characters Category:Kids Category:Book characters Category:Foxes Category:Females